"Hey there, kid! Good to see you again."
Sage stiffened for a moment, lifting his head and narrowing his eyes as he scanned the entrance.
His mind raced in surprise, he recognized that voice instantly but needed a moment to confirm that his ears hadn't betrayed him. When his gaze finally landed on the familiar figure by the doorway, his breath caught for half a heartbeat.
Pax.
The very first person Sage had spoken to upon arriving in this world, the man who had sat with him in that dimly lit tavern, explaining the intricacies of dungeons and countless other things Sage had been clueless about.
Pax had casually shrugged off the world's dangers with a weary laugh; when Sage first saw him, he looked like someone who had lived three lifetimes within one body.
